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Science lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 30 minutes

Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

Ecosystems and food chains

CCSS NGSS.MS-LS2-1CCSS NGSS.SEP 4England: KS3 Biology: Relationships in an ecosystemEngland: GCSE Combined Science: Ecology

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Environments change: human impact

Leads to: Population growth and carrying capacity

Materials: Food web cards, Arrows to build chains, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Environments change: human impact). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Does this help or harm wildlife: digging a wildlife pond? (helps wildlife / harms wildlife) → helps wildlifePrompt: Does it make habitats bigger and cleaner, or smaller and dirtier?
  2. Why is cutting down large areas of rainforest a problem? (Many animals and plants lose their habitat / Rainforests have no animals / Trees grow back in a day / It makes more rain) → Many animals and plants lose their habitatPrompt: Where would the animals that lived in the trees go?
  3. Which action helps wildlife? (dropping litter / dumping plastic in the sea / draining wetlands / digging a wildlife pond) → digging a wildlife pondPrompt: Think about what happens to habitats.

Hook · 3 min

  • Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
  • Share the objective: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: an invasive species?
  • Step 1: Biotic factors come from other living things.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: biotic (living)
  • Answer: biotic (living)
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: soil pH? (abiotic (non-living) / biotic (living)) → abiotic (non-living)Prompt: Does it come from a living organism?
  2. Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 2 30 % → 7 50 % → 12 70 % → 17 90 % → 22 Which conclusion do the data support? (Daisies grow best in the shade. / Light has no link with the number of daisies. / The data prove that light is the only factor that matters. / More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.) → More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.Prompt: Look at how the number of daisies changes as light changes.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 1 30 % → 6 50 % → 11 70 % → 16 90 % → 21 Which conclusion do the data support? (The tree eats the daisies. / The data prove that light is the only factor that matters. / More daisies grow where light intensity is higher. / Daisies grow best in the shade.) → More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.Prompt: Look at how the number of daisies changes as light changes.
  2. Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: competition for food? (abiotic (non-living) / biotic (living)) → biotic (living)Prompt: Does it come from a living organism?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Environments change: human impact.
  • Use concrete materials: food web cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Population growth and carrying capacity.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-6.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Lichens grow less well near busy roads. Which abiotic factor is the likely cause?

    • A. air pollution such as nitrogen dioxide
    • B. competition with trees
    • C. the number of predators
    • D. a new disease

  2. Question 2

    Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 3 30 % → 8 50 % → 13 70 % → 18 90 % → 23 Which conclusion do the data support?

    • A. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
    • B. The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.
    • C. Light has no link with the number of daisies.
    • D. Daisies grow best in the shade.

  3. Question 3

    Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: an invasive species?

    • A. abiotic (non-living)
    • B. biotic (living)

  4. Question 4

    Warmer ocean water causes corals to lose the algae living inside them (bleaching). Which factor changed?

    • A. light, which disappeared
    • B. the number of fish
    • C. predators, a biotic factor
    • D. temperature, an abiotic factor

  5. Question 5

    Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 1 30 % → 5 50 % → 9 70 % → 13 90 % → 17 Which conclusion do the data support?

    • A. Light has no link with the number of daisies.
    • B. The tree eats the daisies.
    • C. The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.
    • D. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.

  6. Question 6

    Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: carbon dioxide level?

    • A. abiotic (non-living)
    • B. biotic (living)

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Answer key: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

  1. 1. A. air pollution such as nitrogen dioxide

  2. 2. A. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.

  3. 3. B. biotic (living)

  4. 4. D. temperature, an abiotic factor

  5. 5. D. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.

  6. 6. A. abiotic (non-living)